{Little Rider Babies}

And The Winner From Last Night is...

2012-01-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

...Christian! With 7 wake-ups to Daphne's 3. Good job Christian! And, Daphne only woke up crying hysterically twice. The other time she woke up and sang approximately 37 rounds of 'Old McDonald Had a Farm' (did you know Old McDonald had pumpkins? He did. A pumpkin here and a pumpkin there.) and she carried on a long and interesting monologue on how her Ducky Duck is a toy and not for eating.

Never a dull moment.

Who Wants To Buy Me a New Face?

2012-01-25T11:04:00.001-08:00

Last night was one of those fun nights where Christian was up 3 times (normal for him), but Daphne wins the prize by getting up 4 times. Only one time did her waking coincide with a time I was up feeding Christian, otherwise she saved it for when C was sleeping.

I love it that my kids are such great sleepers.

Excuse me while I go Scotch tape my eyelids open for the day.

Scrawny but Healthy

2012-01-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

Christian turned 4 months and Daphne turned 3 all at about the same time and so we were able to book their well child appointments together.

I kind of forgot about Christian's 2 month appointment (read: lazy, didn't feel like going, etc., etc., etc.,). I got a call from his doctor's office saying "we noticed Christian is late for his 1 year appointment, so please call to schedule soon." I really felt the love with that one.

Anyways, it was quite exciting to see that Daphne is 0.01 on the percentile chart for height and Christian is 1 percentile for weight (read: my children, the overachievers). He's 70th percentile for height and weighed 11lbs 12 oz.

At least now I know why Christian still wants to eat every 3 hours at night. Although wouldn't it be SO great if he stopped doing that?

Daphne was IN LOVE with the little hospital gown she got to wear (read: she cried when we took it off and wanted to take it home with her). I've never known anyone to be so happy to wear a hospital gown.

A Snow Day

2012-01-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

This morning Daphne got up, looked out the window, and wanted to go out and play.

Her first 'real' snow day.

('Real' meaning she actually wanted to go play in it. The 2 feet of snow when she was born doesn't count.)

Christian was there, too, but it was hard to take a photo of him while he was in my arms. I wanted to lay him down, but ice pellets were falling from the sky and I figured he wouldn't really love getting hit in the face with frozen bits of water.

We wish it would snow a whole bunch.

Even More Cooking (AKA: I {Heart} Pinterest)

2012-01-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that Daphne is super into doing projects right now? Like cooking? I find myself spending a bit of time in the evenings planning projects for the next day. Suddenly I feel like a teacher again. Maybe I should buy a teacher planning book! I sure did love those things.

Anyways, today we made banana snowmen, which I found (surprise!) on Pinterest. How many times do you think Pinterest will be mentioned on the blog this year? I guess one zillion times.

I made Daphne the first snowman so she could see what we were doing. Mine looked exactly liked the picture linked above, minus a face. It was 5:30PM and I was too tired to come up with face ingredients. Body, arms and buttons seems good enough to me. (I realize 5:30PM does not seem late enough to be so tired, but it is very late when you've been up since 2:30AM with The Boy Child Who Will Not Sleep.)

Apparently to Daphne my faceless Frosty was not good enough, so she gave him bulging eyeballs and a Pinocchio nose. Freaky. (Seriously, just focus your gaze on the bulging eyes and imagine that snowman coming at you in the night...)

When she was finished she took great delight in telling me that she ate Frosty the Snowman.

In Christian related news, his rolling has put a serious crimp in our sleeping (and was the reason he couldn't sleep after 2:30 this morning). Then today he napped not one minute. I thought he was rolling a bit early so I looked it up today and sure enough, it's typical to start rolling back-to-front at 6 months. Front-to-back usually comes first around 5 months.

Goodness, son, I'm glad you excel in rolling, but let's just go back to napping, yes?

Next Up: Crawling

2012-01-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Look at what this little dude can do:

I love him for his ability to learn new things, but we have been working our tails off trying to get him to sleep well.

Now he's all "I love my new talent, I will practice every chance I get!"

So he's comfy in his bed, swaddled tight in his ~~straight jacket~~ blanket, rolls over, face plants in his mattress, can't move and starts crying a muffled cry.

It's not relaxing for him or me.

I forgot about this part of sleeping issues...learning a new talent and having it interfere with sleeping.

Babies. Always throwing us for a loop.

Cooking with Daphne

2012-01-06T15:17:00.000-08:00

**Update:
We recommend the frozen chocolate banana treats that we mentioned making in this post. Delish.

**Original Post:
There is a reason Daphne's Christmas tree ornament from me this year was in the shape of a little tart pan: this girl loves to cook.

Sunday we made pizza, Wednesday we made guacamole, this morning we made trail mix, and this afternoon we're going to make these yummy things that I found on Pinterest.

And we do it all while wearing matching aprons.

Christian: 4 Months

2012-01-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

Right now the boy is lying in his bed loudly protesting nap time, so suffice it to say that sleep is still not going well. I think I would give a kidney to sleep a 5 hour stretch some night. 8 hours and I would probably die of pure happiness. Even 3 hours would put a spring in my step.

Other than being a wretched sleeper, Christian is pretty much perfect in every other way. I had heard of folks who said their babies only cried when they were tired or hungry but since my experience with my first baby was pretty much as opposite from that as possible, it's pretty amazing to now get live with one of those babies. He still smiles often, laughs easily, and makes me thankful everyday for his easy going personality.

I'm most thankful that even though he's tired from refusing sleep with all his might, he manages to stay happy during the day. It's hard to be tired beyond belief and then have to care for an overly tired and cranky child, so the fact that he can look at me with his red rimmed eyes and still muster up a smile warms my heart.

I would have 10 more babies if I knew they would be just like Christian. He's pretty great.

Our Christmases Were Merry

2012-01-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

I didn't get it, though.

Christmas Eve was a 49ers game.

Christmas Day Daphne discovered what stockings were all about. Christian took the longest nap of his life and missed opening stockings, eating Christmas breakfast, and opening gifts. I'm glad he didn't notice that he had no stocking or gifts.

Monday we dressed like elves and other festive folks.

Wednesday we played crazy tourists and ate at the Carver Cafe. Twilight, anyone? We bought t-shirts, because that's what tourists do. The food is really good, though, so I think you can go there even if you don't like Twilight.

Now our tree is out and the lights are down and Daphne is asking for more Christmas parties. Apparently 5 parties weren't enough for her. Or they were just enough to make her think we should establish a weekly Christmas party habit.

Daphne: 3 Years

2011-12-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

Some things I love about this 3 year old of mine...

Birthday pancakes this morning. She blew the candles out too quickly for a picture.

I love that she always finds a friend at the playground.

I love that one of her new favorite phrases is "look at me, mama!" I love that she wants to do things that make me laugh.

I love that another favorite phrase is "can I help you, mama?" I love that she wants to be with me, doing what I'm doing.

I love hearing her little voice say "mama."

birthday ice cream at Red Robin

I love that she loves going to church.

I love that she's happiest when we're spending time as a family.

As a new 3 year old...

Her favorite songs to listen to are "Ice, Ice Baby," "Everybody Dance Now" and "Frosty the Snowman." She asks for them as soon as we get in the car.

Her favorites to sing at bedtime are "How Great Thou Art," "It Is Well" and "Angel's We Have Heard on High."

Traditional Dec. 22 lunch at Izzy's.

She loves playing with Duplos, cooking, playing the piano, and visiting friends.

She loves to eat fruit, peanut butter, and ice cream.

We struggle with temper tantrums in stores and fussiness and grouchy behavior at home. Sometimes I wish she liked playing alone a little bit better, but I know she needs to spend quality time with me to help her know she's loved.

So sometimes the house is messier than I would like it to be and we eat peanut butter on crackers with carrot sticks and apples for supper on more nights than I can count, but it's because we have this girl here with us:

And a perfectly clean house isn't so important anymore.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. ~Ps. 127:3

Pretzels

2011-12-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

Daphne is eating up the time I spend with her on crafty or cooking projects. It's almost the only time (at home) when she is not, let's just say, expressing her negative feelings about having to share mama's attention. She loves Christian with all her heart, but the transition from being an only child to being a big sister hasn't always been easy on her.

Today we made chocolate covered pretzels. Usually I dip the pretzels so they are completely covered in chocolate, but imaging Daph digging around in a bowl of chocolate kind of gave me heart palpitations, so we used spoons to drizzle the chocolate instead. They pretty much look like an almost 3 year old made them, which is fitting since an almost 3 year old did make most of them. And she loved every minute of it.

Daddy joined in for a bit:

Then Christian woke up and was not happy to be watching the cooking when he really wanted to be eating. (This is the best picture of him, ever.)

We're going to take pretzels to the neighbors tomorrow and Daphne is so excited about that. Do I tell them she was licking off her spoon??

Relaxed

2011-12-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

Christian likes to chill out. He is always lying around with his arm up behind his head.

It makes him so happy. (Also, not having his wild sister in the room may have had something to do with his happiness in this particular photo sequence.)

Oh, the cuteness. I die.

Cookies

2011-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's so great that Daphne is old enough to do fun activities with me.

We decorated Christmas cookies this week.

It did not take her long to discover that the best way to decorate is to get the frosting, put it on the cookie, lick the frosting off the cookie, get more frosting, put it on the cookie, lick the frosting off the cookie...over and over again until your tummy is full of frosting.

You may be able to tell which plate I decorated and which plate is Daphne's.

And don't try to get smart with me and say how beautiful that big plate of cookies is, and isn't Daphne such a natural at the decorating?

Only one of us was allowed to use sprinkles, and it sure wasn't the one who licks the frosting.

Christmas Pose in Front of the Fireplace

2011-12-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

Good:

Not so good:

P.S.
If you get a Christmas card from me this year, know that it was lovingly addressed between 2 and 3 this morning. Christian still wakes up almost every hour at night, and sometimes instead of sleeping for that 1/2 or so between getting up with him I stay up and work instead. Last night it was Christmas cards. So if yours is addressed upside down or I spelled something wrong or if your envelope was entirely empty or you thought you should get one and you didn't...I blame Christian 100%. You can too.

Birthday Week

2011-12-14T17:06:00.001-08:00

Let's take one minute and discuss the fact that Daphne turns 3 next week.

Helloooo heart attack. How did that happen?

We're really starting to notice the problems that come with having a Christmas baby. Celebrating is the pits. I think we've decided that we'll always keep Christmas Eve morning as just her birthday before we need to head to any family Christmas event. We'll have a fun birthday breakfast with presents and we won't talk about Christmas at all. We won't wrap her gifts in Christmas paper and we won't ever do a combination birthday/Christmas gift. Because that's lame.

That's all we've decided so far. As she gets older and more aware we'll probably just ask her what she wants to do to make her birthday more fun since we can't do any special activity on her actual birthday. Celebrate on her half birthday? Celebrate on January 24? Whatever sounds good to her.

Last night she celebrated with her Grandma, who also has a December birthday.

It's nice for birthday people to wear crowns.

My favorite was the birthday cakes which I baked in 4oz. canning jars. Thank goodness for Pinterest or I would just be making regular cupcakes. We can't have that.

Today she enjoyed playing with her new toys. The pliers that came in her new tool box are very useful...

...and she was teaching Christian how to play Memory.

Until this started happening:

Why does she always want to do that? Poor Christian.

I did make one rule: she cannot use her new tools on Christian. He does not need his head hammered or screw drivers in his ears. She is in fact not allowed to hammer anyone. A good rule for any household.

It's Nice to Know I'd Jump in Front of a Bus if I Had To

2011-12-13T15:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday the kids and I were walking through the Target parking lot, Christian in his stroller and Daphne holding my hand. We were walking right behind a white SUV when the driver started backing up, and none too slowly.

You know that moment when you think "my, my, that person is getting awful close, but I'm sure they are paying attention and will stop soon," and then they usually stop. I thought that would happen...but it didn't.

I jerked Daphne's arm to throw her out of the way, put myself in front of the stroller and pushed it out of the way, and then managed to get myself out of the way right in the nick of time.

The driver didn't see me standing there clutching my kids in fear until she had pulled out far enough that I was even with her passenger side window. She looked a little startled to see me there, what with being distracted on her cell phone and all.

She pulled back in to finish her call, and then as she left, drove by my car and apologized for not paying attention. I thought that was nice of her.

I didn't tell Daphne what had happened (like, "hey, that lady almost hit us!") because I didn't want her to be scared. But several times over the course of the evening she would mention the lady at Target who crashed into us and tried to squish us, so I guess she is more aware than I expect her to be.

You might wonder at times in an emergency, would you save yourself or your kids? I'm glad to know, thanks to our near-squished experience, that I would indeed jump in front to save my children.

I have officially become a mother. (Because the miserable pregnancies/long labors/never sleeping again definitely isn't enough.)

Our Acting Debut

2011-12-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

I feel we got this gig as part of our church's live nativity not based on our impressive acting abilities but more on the fact that we have a baby boy at Christmastime.

And though it may look like Daphne played the part of a small Russian soldier, she was actually manger dove.

Although the soldier would have been cool.

Newport

2011-12-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

We went to the beach.

It was Christian's first trip.

It was also his first time in a Bumbo.

The weather was good but cold.

Daph did crafts.

Christian got lots of snuggles.

The end.

Christian: Month 3

2011-12-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Would you believe it if I told you Christian is 3 months old now? I know, it's almost unbelievable.

He is such a gem. Really. I could just kiss his chubby cheeks all day long.

Snuggling with the Grinch and wearing Christmas jammies. Because it's Christmastime.

During his awake time he'll lay on the floor or in his bouncy seat and be quite content. If you sit next to him and talk, he will give you huge smiles and answer all your questions with little gurgles and coos. I know I should take advantage of his contented state to do some housework, but he distracts me so.

I'm OK with that. I think when I'm 80 and looking back over my life I won't be wishing I had kept my house cleaner, rather I think I'll be thankful that I snuggled my sweet babies as often as I could.

1 month

2 months

3 months

The Great Tree Hunt, 2011

2011-11-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

The day we get our Christmas tree is one of my favorite days of the year. We've gone to the same tree farm for the past 4 or 5 years, and now that we have kids we have started some little traditions to keep the day fun.

Daph is so excited about Christmas. I told her the other day that it was almost Christmastime, and since then she's been asking every day if we can 'go to Christmas.' I don't know what that means to her, but it's fun to see her having such a good time.

Monday we told her we were going to find our Christmas tree. She was bouncing off the walls with joy.

First we stopped at a little donut shop in Gresham.

Happiness for Daphne:

She likes the chocolate ones.

Christian had a good time, too:

We got to the farm where all our hopes and dreams of a jovial time trekking through the trees came to a screeching halt.

Literally, screeching.

First Daphne was super sad at the acres of what we were calling 'Christmas trees.' I think she expected hundreds of lit up and beautiful trees.

Then, I don't know, she just started throwing fits and laying down in the dirt.

It was strange and slightly disheartening. Did she not get the memo that this is one of my favorite days?

Finally we just picked a tree and hoped that when we got home and had a chance to look at it we would find that it was full of branches and had no giant dead spots.

At home things did pick up a bit.

Daphne was thrilled that we were bringing the tree into the house. As soon as we had it in she made herself at home right in front of it.

She loved decorating it.

Christian slept through our entire decorating party, but enjoyed hanging out with Daphne once he woke up.

Despite the somewhat disappointing tree hunt, we still managed to come home with the most beautiful tree ever.

And we came home with this most adorable little reindeer, so that was worth it.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving baby is so cute! It's a good thing he is so cute and that I love him so much because he still is sleeping quite poorly at night. God made babies cute for a very good reason.

These Thanksgiving siblings really love each other.

Oh dear, poor Christian.

That's (sort of) better. Face it, buddy, you have years of obligatory sibling photos ahead of you.

David's favorite part of this Thanksgiving was showing Christian how wonderful it is to spend the morning watching football. Clearly C was thrilled. Or terrified.

This morning we did a little Black Friday shopping, although it's a little hard to get too riled up about shopping when you're working it between nursing breaks. I went as wild as I could and got a new handbag, something I haven't done since I started carrying a diaper bag 3 years ago. David got a new shirt. Yes, our spending is out of control.

But you know we're really crazy when David starts flashing gangs signs at Taco Bell. Or whatever it is he's doing.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Never Before Seen Photos & Memories

2011-11-19T21:07:00.001-08:00

Friday night Christian saw his first snowflakes.

I weighed him, just for kicks. He's 11lbs even.

Yesterday he laughed. More than once.

He's growing so fast, although bringing him home from the hospital feels like yesterday.

Here's David bringing Christian home on September 2...do you see something creepy in this photo? Hanging from the ceiling fan? Poor baby had no idea he was being brought home to a house of horrors.

The day we brought Christian home was one of my favorite days with him so far (once we got rid of the ant). Daphne was with my mom for the afternoon and David, Christian and I just hung out in the living room napping and watching Bones. So peaceful. Those quiet days with a new baby are precious memories.

One Day These Will Be Fond Memories

2011-11-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

I have a gift for producing children who hate sleep. I'm not exactly proud of this gift, but it's what I've got so I make the best of it.

For the past two weeks Christian has been getting up almost every hour, or like last night, staying up from 11PM-5AM. I read by candlelight while holding him. If I'm going to be pulling all-nighters I might as well do something fun while at it. I've also watch many cheesy Christmas movies via Netflix. Three in one night a couple of nights ago. I love a good cheesy Christmas movie.

David is tired, too, since he has to work 12 hour shifts everyday while Occupy Portland is going on.

To sum it up, David and I both look like our faces have been beaten by bags of rocks. And we both need haircuts. And Daphne has dried snot in her hair.

But look at that sweet face! Wouldn't it be nice if he made it more often...

Many Blessings

2011-11-11T15:23:00.001-08:00

We've had two kids in the house now for two months and 1 week. The adjustment has been great; easier than I expected. Not easy, of course, since Christian doesn't love sleeping at night and the days are exponentially busier than they were before. But Christian is a great baby and a perfect addition to our family. His calm nature, combined with Daphne's great love for him, means we're getting along just fine.

We've been honored to be at the receiving end of so many kind acts since Christian was born. Getting meals delivered is probably one of the best side effects of giving birth. Seriously, you're sitting there on your couch when the doorbell rings and there is a hot meal ready to be eaten. I'd have a baby every week just for the meals alone.

(Not really.)

Meeka threw us the most fun sip and see. When you're a mom you don't get to go out with friends sans children very often, so it was a treat to be blessed with a relaxing morning with friends and yummy food. Christian was there, of course, but since I don't have to chase him or worry about him breaking anything, he's no problem.

Emily came and mopped my floor. Can you believe it? It was so wonderful that I took a picture. Another reason to have lots of babies.

(Are my reasons for wanting lots of babies slightly off? I think not.)

I've loved it when the grandparents have watched Daphne. Of course I love having her at home, but having a little quiet time to enjoy Christian alone is priceless.

So many people left gifts for us at church or sent things in the mail, and many included little treats for Daphne as well.

Like these hand-knitted items. I apologize that both kids look loopy; that's what happens when you have approximately 5 seconds to take a photo while you're rushing out the door to church. But goodness, their outfits are cute.

To everyone who has rejoiced in Christian's birth through sharing gifts, your time, and your prayers: we are so thankful. Each act has made life a little easier, and that's a gift for which you can't say thank you enough.

Homemade

2011-11-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the look-out for good food that I can make in bulk and then have on hand so that we don't need to buy packaged stuff. I especially like making snacks that I only get out when we're in the car for long periods of time or we're out shopping or something. Because nothing says sit still and be quiet quite like food.

Like goldfish crackers. Cute and fun and yummy, but I don't like the ingredients so I never buy them. Thankfully, Pioneer Woman saved the day and I was so happy when I saw this recipe awhile back.

I'm not quite so ambitious as to make my own goldfish cookie cutters, but I do have a tiny owl cutter that worked.

Daph had the best time "squishing out owls" as she called it. I didn't realize she would be so good at it; we'll have to start squishing out more things soon.

I also didn't use sharp cheddar, just the regular medium that we had in the fridge. Did you catch when Fred's had Tillamook cheese on sale for $4.88 the other week? You could only buy 2 at a time, so David and I both went through the line on one trip so we could buy 4, and then we went back another day and did the same thing again. We're cool like that. And our cheese collection is amazing. (Should I be embarrassed that I just admitted that we did that?)

Anyways, the owl crackers are a hit. They are super easy to make, and it was a fun activity to do with Daphne. (Christian was snoozing and missed all the fun.)

One of these days Daphne will realize all her friends have cool, store-bought goldfish crackers while she's sitting there with her lame owl crackers, but hey, her kidneys will be clean and her immune system will be strong. She'll thank me someday.

Harvesting

2011-11-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Our grape harvest was plentiful this year.

Daph came out to help us pick, and this was her saying, "She wants some berries, please!!!!"

(She often refers to herself as 'she' and of course grapes are delicious so they must be berries.)

This is her stuffing her face. Why didn't the giant seeds deter her? I don't know.

My mom helped me make a bunch of grape juice. It is yummy stuff.

Back before I had kids I used to take a lot of picture of our dogs. For old time's sake I took Brynner's picture as he was watching the grape picking festivities. Our poor, unloved and semi-neglected dog. He looks so sad.

A Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure we would get around to doing Halloween this year, what with the tiny, non-sleeping person in the house. The days are flying by and things that aren't paramount to our day-to-day survival aren't always getting done.

David and Daphne managed to squeeze in a pumpkin carving one day. I was feeding Christian and did not get to participate. Sad, because I had the perfect idea for my pumpkin that I'll just have to save for next year. I'm sure we'll be back on track by then.

We didn't even make our trick-or-treat plans until October 30. Fortunately I had bought Christian a little outfit months ago when he was just 'the baby who will be born someday.'

I had the best idea for Daphne, and while I thought she looked like what she was supposed to look like, others (ahem, David) may have mocked her outfit a bit.

Can you guess?

(Hint: not a flight attendant, not a girl going to church, and not a random 60's chick.)

If you guessed Daphne from Scooby Doo, you win my gratitude.

Apparently Daphne from Scooby Doo always wears a purple dress and a green scarf, but I just made do with what I had in the closet. And she loved wearing the scarf, so I say it was a win.

I have some cute photos from our trick-or-treat run, but since I didn't ask for permission to post photos of children that aren't my own, I won't post them and you can just imagine in your head Daph and two other little ones having a good time walking the streets. Because it was a good time.

I'm glad we did Halloween this year.

Christian: 2 Months

2011-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember this post when Daphne was 2 months old. How could I not repeat the pose with Christian?

Christian, 10-31-11

Daphne, 2-24-08

Christian was more excited about dressing like a flower than his big sister had been. He was cooing at me the entire time.

Speaking of cooing, I love that our little 2 month old loves to chit chat. When he's awake and his tummy is full, he is content to lay on the floor and talk to anyone who is listening. He very rarely gets too upset, even when his big sis is laying across his stomach. Sometimes in the evenings he'll be fussy, but even then, thanks to the 5 S's from The Happiest Baby on the Block, he is pretty easy to soothe. Magical.

We weighed him today and he weighs 10lbs 10 oz. Almost exactly 3 lbs heavier than his birth weight of 7lbs 11oz. He can still wear newborn clothing, but I have him mostly in 0-3 month or 3 month sizes since his gigantic, cloth diapered buns fit better into those larger clothes. Sometimes I want to put him in a disposable just so I can put him back into those tiny newborn clothes.

I love taking care of this happy little dude.

2 months

Happy

2011-10-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful we had Daphne first and Christian next. Christian is such a good baby; I would have thought all babies were so calm and laid back, and I would have prided myself on my amazing mothering skills to have produced such a gem of a child. Having the Daphinator next would have shocked me senseless and I probably would have been shut away in the attic as David's crazy wife who no one talks about anymore.

I love Daphne, bless her screaming little heart.

Anyways, I say that in part because Daph was very slow to smile as a baby. I don't know why she was so unhappy with us, but she didn't smile until she was at least 8 weeks old and then would only smile once a week or so. If we were lucky.

So it makes my heart happy that this little guy smiled right at 6 weeks, and even smiles multiple times in one day.

I hardly know what to do with all the happy energy floating around our house.

Friends. Possibly.

2011-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering how Daphne felt about her baby brother, this photo really sums it up:

He's a playmate, all shiny and new, brought home just for her.

Besides listening to his heart she was also giving him shots. (I was confused on how she thinks she knows what shots are since I think she's only had one shot in her life back when she was 3 months old.)

Daph was telling me the other day that someday Christian will grow up and she can play with him. For now, as soon as she sees him on the floor, she brings over a toy or two and contentedly plays right next to him.

I hope Christian will grow to like her just as much someday, since the looks on his face right now are generally of fear and trepidation as he anticipates getting shots or any other manner of actions that intrude on his personal space.

We'll keep you posted.

I Miss My Brain, Part II

2011-10-13T18:53:00.001-07:00

Remember when I said Christian was doing so well napping lately?

Hahaha, joke's on me.

Except I'm not really laughing because I don't think I have the energy to muster up any actual laughter.

I think he decided he wants to be just like his big sister and never sleep. I tell him, baby Christian, sleeping helps your brain grow and if you want to go to Yale someday like Rory Gilmore you need to sleep so you can be smart. Then he looks at me, wrinkles up his forehead and pukes down the sleeve of my last clean shirt. But at least he gets my Gilmore Girls reference since we had season 4 playing the entire time we were in the hospital having him.

The other night he didn't go to bed until 4:30 in the morning (and then was up for the day at 6:15) AND he's decided daytime napping is for babies. Apparently he doesn't realize that he IS a baby and he should delight in the opportunity to sleep whenever he wants to.

Daph needs to stop whispering in his ear because I'm pretty sure she's the one giving him the sleeping tips.

Christian: Month One

2011-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's been just over a month since he joined us, but oh my does it feel like 5 years. Not in a bad way, just in the way where time has no end...night and day are the same; the morning comes and I feel like it was never night. That newborn time zone.

We're slugging through the newborn nighttime. Christian eats around 11, 2 and 5, but maybe he'll think about dropping the 2AM feeding soon? I would like that. He is the slowest eater ever and takes about an hour before he's done. That hour goes mighty slowly at 2 AM. Some nights he thinks it's fun to stay awake between the 2 and 5 feeding. It's not fun, baby. Honest.

Daytime naps are getting better. We follow the wonderful routine brought to us by The Baby Whisperer and he has adapted to it so well. He eats every 3 hours and is doing such a good job learning how to put himself to sleep at nap time.

Evenings are rough, mostly because I'm trying to do the evening crabby hours and bedtime routines alone. David had two weeks off, but now he's back and working loads of overtime. Thank you to the protesters downtown who are making him work noon to midnight this week. Nothing like protesting corporate America and how much money they make by giving the police a bunch of overtime cash. But, David says he feels badly that I've been doing the 24 hour shift by myself so much lately that he feels he needs to buy me some gifts. I think he feels badly that my face looks so haggard and my eyes look glazed over. So I don't say no to gifts. Nope.

It's hard to say much about the personality of a 1 month old, but so far Christian seems pretty laid back and calm. This morning I set him in the infant seat so I could take a shower and he just sat there and stared at the wall the entire time without making a peep. Last week we had to take Christian to the doctor and so left Daphne with my sister. As we were sailing down the freeway I told David that it's strange to drive with a child who is making no noise. Suddenly I had a minor panic moment because I thought maybe we had forgotten to bring him. I checked his car seat real quick and he was there, just relaxed and quiet. After having a firstborn who acted like the world was ending if you ever even tried to put her down, this is like a miracle. As long as his basic needs are met, he seems to be a pretty relaxed guy. Hallelujah and amen.

Maybe I will survive this journey with two.

1 week

1 month

And for good measure, Daphne, 2 and 3/4 years

1st Patch of the Year

2011-10-04T10:40:00.001-07:00

This was how thrilled Christian was with his first pumpkin patch trip:

Snug as a bug in the Moby Wrap, wearing a tiny pumpkin hat. Life is good for the baby.

Daphne LOVES the pumpkin patch. And the mud puddles, sticks, dirt and tractors.

If you ask her, she will like to tell you how she held Christian at the pumpkin patch.

If you ask Christian, he will tell you how he was squished by his ever-loving sister at the pumpkin patch.

Life as usual.

Just Read the Shirts

2011-10-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

In case you were confused on their positions in our family, we've labeled them for you:

Slices of Life Vol III

2011-09-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the night when I'm taking care of Christian I get confused and almost always refer to him as 'she.'

Wednesday night during the wee hours he projectile vomited directly onto my face.

Daphne always refers to Christian as 'it.' As in "I hold it, Mama?" Clearly our family has issues with pronouns.

Christian has even worse reflux than Daphne had. He spits up a lot, although less than he did before he had craniosacral therapy. Our first week at BSF he spit up all over me multiple times. I was like, "hi, new BSF group members, I apologize for my milk puke stink. Don't you want to be my friend?"

Christian weighs exactly 9lbs as of yesterday. He gained 2lbs in 3 weeks. That's a lot.

The bad thing about Christian being born on the 31st of the month is that he doesn't always get a month-birthday. There is no September 31st, so does that mean he will never be 1 month old?

Perfectly Wonderful

2011-09-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Life does
not have to be
perfect to
be wonderful.

~Annette Funicello

Dear Sandman, Feel Free To Visit Us

2011-09-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

For the first two weeks of Christian's life on the outside I was tempted to say, "what a good baby! look how well he sleeps!"

The hardest thing we (I) had to deal with during this time was his insane nursing binges he wanted to go on. Like 3, 4, 6 hours straight. I attribute that to the stomach flu that I got during his first week, where I was grossly sick and couldn't eat for a couple of days. Poor Christian lost bunches of weight his first week (a little more than normal) and had some jaundice issues, so I know he was just doing his best to be healthy. He wasn't quite back up to birth weight at his 2 week appointment, but he's chunking out just fine now.

Anyways, back to the main point of this post...the first two weeks were quite nice. You know, when a newborn can fall asleep anywhere you set them and sleep until they want to eat, and then you have to work really hard to keep them awake so they can eat, then they go back to sleep and stay that way until they want to eat again.

Then the 2 week mark comes and they wake up.

Right now our lives revolve around sleep training and staying home for naps and lots of crying from the small one when we don't get his nap started on time and exclamations of "will this child EVER sleep?!"

So far Christian is a zillion times easier to soothe than his sister ever was. I have not had to run the stairs even once. I'm not too upset about his sleep issues yet because after Daphne's tumultuous first year of no sleep, I know I will make it through and be OK no matter what type of sleeper he turns out to be.

Plus, Christian sounds like a billy goat when he cries, which I find awfully entertaining.

Add to that his cuteness, and it's hard to be too upset about anything.

I Miss My Brain

2011-09-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Christian was so generous last night that he let me sleep one entire hour.

Thanks for your kindness, bud.

Daphne, on the other hand, doesn't mind when he's awake.

I don't always mind, either, but a little shut-eye in between the hours of 10PM and 6AM would be fine as well.

(Did I spell all the words correctly in this post? Did I even write this post? Am I dreaming right now? Not sure...)

Keeping Babies Happy

2011-09-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is what makes the babies happy (in a gassy, fake-smile sort of way):

Their first coffee date!

What doesn't always make them happy:

Big sisters who have no regard for personal space.

Everyone says Daph now has a little brother who's going to be a big pest to her, but there's a part of me that thinks it will actually be the other way around.

Bathtime is Better with Two

2011-09-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Daphne is an amazing big sister. I knew she would like having a baby around, but it's like she aged 10 years while we were in the hospital and turned herself into a full-time baby nanny. She loves to help with everything, like today when she helped give Christian his bath.

He clearly appreciated her help.

Because dropping a sopping wet washcloth directly onto his face is a good way to win his affections.

There May Have Been No Time, But We Did it Anyways

2011-09-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Labor is tons of fun!

Hello world.

Baby Christian, born August 31 at 7:48PM. He's 7lbs 11oz, 21 inches and is a cute little bugger.

Poor Daphne has to share the blog now.

But she does love her baby brother quite a bit.

There's Just No Time for a Birthing

2011-08-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Because we didn't have much going on right now, David got himself into a little traffic crash at work (not his fault) Wednesday night. Now he's home for a couple of days on disability because he's not moving so well and he can't drive. But he gets to take fun drugs!

I'm pretty excited about possibly going into labor and driving myself to the hospital. There is nothing safer than a laboring driver on the freeways. (Mostly kidding; I'm sure he'll be fine to drive me.)

Thursday Daphne had two doctor appointments on the west side, and David had one, plus we had to go to his work so he could finish writing his report from the night before. We left a little after 9AM and didn't get home until almost 7PM. That's not such a long day for adult people, but it was hard on Daphne. I was so nervous about having the baby that day because there just wasn't any time to fit in a birthing. Stress levels were high.

Daph being so brave about getting x-rays. When I told her that big thing was a giant camera that was going to take pictures of her feet, she said the camera makes a loud noise. It's been probably a year and 1/2 since she's had x-rays, so how did she remember that?

Yesterday David had his first physical therapy session and he has two more appointments coming Monday and Tuesday. Basically, we absolutely cannot have the baby for at least another week because there is just no time to fit in a birth.

So keep that in mind, baby. One more week. Please.

David's Daughter, For Sure

2011-08-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Daph loves keeping the people entertained. That's why lately I have been getting a lot of photos of her doing strange things like this:

Isn't she just the sweetest looking thing?

This is How We Have Fun

2011-08-23T10:27:00.001-07:00

This morning Daph had tons of fun eating breakfast in the kitchen and watching David power wash the house.

She loved it. It was like TV to her.

It was almost as fun watching me unload the dishwasher.

So anytime you need a really exciting morning, you know just where to come.

One of Those Good Days

2011-08-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

It was a popsicle kind of day.

It was a hang-out-with-friends kind of a day.

It was a go-to-Burgerville-use-their-air-conditioning-celebrate-their-50th-birthday kind of day.

It was a Daphne-was-brave-and-wanted-her-face-painted-like-the-big-kids kind of day.

You know, one of those good days.

Daddy Time

2011-08-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

David, with all that responsibilites involved in providing for a family, has been working tons and tons lately. He's been getting scheduled for court almost everyday, meaning he has to go in to work before his regular shift begins.

Wednesday he went to work, got home and to bed around 3:30A.M., got up at 6:45A.M. so he could leave for court at 7:15, then went to work for his afternoon shift, got home around 3A.M., went to bed...you see the pattern.

Last week his court was all at noon so he could sleep in and then get up and leave immediately for court before heading off to regular work.

Then on his weekend he went camping with some friends. We've kind of forgotten what he looks like.

Poor Daphne has been feeling his absence. She will ask where Daddy is and I tell her he's at work and she'll say "NO! Daddy stay HOME!" Sometimes she even starts crying. I feel sad for her.

Maybe Thursday (?) David was able to come home for a quick lunch. As we were sitting at the picnic table eating Daphne picked up her cup and plate from where I had set them and scooted her little buns over until she was sitting as close to him as possible.

David was home with us today and Daphne said to me, "Mama stay in the house, Daffy goes outside with Daddy." So I stayed in the house and took pictures of them through the window.

David will tell me he's running downstairs or outside to do something and we'll hear Daphne's little voice chiming in with "I go with Daddy."

I think it's safe to say that she likes him quite a bit.

Food

2011-08-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

Alrighty, folks, 3 weeks or any day until baby time.

Did that just strike a bit of fear into your hearts? Me too.

Every night I think I'm going into labor so I start cooking something (because that's logical). I want Daphne to have food while we're in the hospital. (Oh, it is logical!)

Speaking of food, I started watching Food, Inc last night. It's so great. I needed to go to bed so I didn't get very far, plus I want David to watch it with me.

I tell ya, it makes me happy to know that this is where I get my milk (and butter, yogurt, etc):

And this is where I get my eggs:

And David's favorite, this is where we get our bacon:

(photo courtesy of my mother.)

(Is it just me, or do Daphne and that baby pig kind of look alike?)

Photo Link

2011-08-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to our Daphne/maternity photos from June. The gallery is only available through August 10, so don't be alarmed if you click on the link and you see nothing there.

(If it asks for a password try Kemple2011.)

Daphne sure is lovable.

Another Check Off the List

2011-08-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

A good activity for a warm summer day is...

...because look how happy it could make your child!

Fish are very exciting.

We like Bonneville because it's so peaceful and beautiful.

You can talk to fish guys about fish stuff.

And watch the fish guys move fish around.

You can't go swimming (so hard for Daphne to understand), but you can play in the fountain.

Picnics are good, too.

Don't forget Cascade Locks for ice cream.

That makes everyone happy.

The Most Un-Helpful Berry Picker: The Sequel

2011-07-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a little something.

When you're in a raspberry patch that's been pretty cleaned out, you have do a lot of digging and hunting to get your berries. It's a bit of work. So when you look down at your container to check your progress and find a little girl sitting there with a berry stained face and your container is completely empty...it can be discouraging.

Berry picking in the negative. Never good.

I think if we go blueberry picking one more time and maybe do one more raspberry trip we'll be set for the year. We still have tons of jam and jelly leftover from last year, so this year I am drying fruit, making fruit leather and just freezing the berries in bags.

Last year I canned and froze so much that we hardly bought any fruit over the course of the winter. I'm hoping for that again this year, but we have a big event coming right in the middle of canning season that makes me a little nervous about my productivity level this coming fall.

But as I like to say, if the pioneer women did it, so can I.

And I can do it while watching Netflix via the laptop.

Working Off the List. Sort of.

2011-07-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer David and I made a list of all the fun activities we wanted to do with Daphne before the baby is born. We've done several of the things already, plus several more that weren't on the list (but should have been) that we did, then I wrote them on the list so I could cross them off.

Do you ever do that? Write something you already did on a 'to do' list just so you can have the pleasure of crossing it off? It's reaaallly fun.

There's a cute area down on the waterfront where you can walk down to the docks and see some boats. Daphne loves boats and water and I think downtown is fun so we have that activity on our list. We needed a hot day since it's always chiller down by the water and FINALLY yesterday we had one.

The sad thing is, we made it downtown and then totally got distracted by other fun activities. For one, the other day my back stopped working for some reason and I've had to hobble around hunched over like I'm 105, leaving my ability to walk many blocks downtown severely limited. (No fair that Daph gets to use the stroller.) For two, we got lunch because food is good. For three, Daph got super excited about the Salmon Street Springs and played there until she was soaked and exhausted. We never made it down to the docks.

So my question is...do I cross downtown off my list or do I add 'Lunch and Salmon Street Springs' to my list and cross that off instead and still try to do the original listed activity?

You can see why my life is so difficult with all these hard decisions to make.

Plus, getting David downtown can be hard work sometimes. He doesn't really like lots of people, or we'll be driving along and I'll see a cute restaurant and say, "Hey, that place looks cute, we should go there sometime!" and he says, "You don't want to go there, the kitchen is dirty and they sell drugs." Or we'll see some nice folks sitting on a street corner and he'll say "Look at those guys doing a drug deal right now." It really ruins the downtown experience. And I should really consider writing a tourism brochure for our fair city, obviously.

The other sad thing is, here we were on a beautiful sunny day, doing a listed activity, and my camera battery died. I never let that happen! Horrible to miss out on Daphne having the best time ever in the springs, although I managed to get 1 or 2 cute photos.

Daph really loves water. It was especially exciting to her when a boat drove by and the riders waved to her. She wanted to go swimming in there, but eww. She would probably contract some horrible, life threatening illness.

But then she saw the springs, where she was a little unsure at first. It didn't take too long for her to be completely soaked and having the time of her life. My camera died before she became brave.

We have many, many more things that we need to get done on our list, because is there really much worse than having a list with un-crossed off items on it? Surely not.

Last Year's Fear, This Year's Fun

2011-07-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Since David and I both enjoy going for bike rides, last summer we bought Daphne a bike seat so that we could do some fun, family rides. Bonding, yes?

Our plan did not work for two reasons:

1) Daphne went through a faze where she hated wearing hats, bike helmets included, and

2) When you sat her on the bike seat she screamed in terror.

We tried maybe twice and then gave up because we really didn't want her to develop a life-long fear of bikes.

Last week we got the bike out to try again, hoping that this time it would be met with a more positive response.

Well, friends, I am pleased to say that this year Daphne loves the bike. It has to be a Daddy/Daughter venture for now because I am really not in the mood to go bike riding right now, but David says she sits peacefully in her seat and sings while he pedals for the two of them. And apparently it's hard work biking for two because he always comes home sweaty and stinky.

Bike riding with Daddy is one of her current favorite activities and is something I think they will keep up for as long as the weather stays nice into the fall.

It helps that she is ridiculously cute in her helmet.

Babies and Gardens

2011-07-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, this baby of ours is due in about 6 weeks. So much to do, so little time.

At our last appointment (32 weeks) I was measuring 6 weeks behind, plus my blood test showed I am severely anemic. Laurel, our midwife, wanted us to get an ultrasound to check baby's growth just to make sure everything is OK. Today we got to see that the baby is actually measuring a week ahead and possibly already weighing almost 6lbs. What if we have a 10lb baby? I'm kind of nervous.

It is one of Daph's favorite activities to 'go to the doctor and hear the baby' as she puts it. She LOVES it. Talks about it all the time. She's pretty good at mimicking the swooshing heart beat sound when you ask her what the baby says. Isn't she going to be surprised when the baby comes home and sounds less like a quiet thumping and more like a screeching hyena? I'm afraid she'll be shocked.

And when Sherrie was doing the 3D ultrasound today, Daphne saw the screen and was convinced the baby is an elephant.

Regardless of weight (although I am hoping for no elephant baby) I gotta say, this baby better come out awfully lovable, because right now relations between s/he and I are a bit strained. Daphne is finally sleeping a little bit better, but my little womb resident still likes to keep me up sick at night. Poor David has found some random items in the fridge lately, and I wish I could blame Daphne except that I know she can't open the fridge door. Oh pregnancy; so beautiful. So mind-altering.

In other news, Daphne is loving picking and eating all the treats from our garden. It's so hard to have to say "that's enough broccoli for today, kid," but remember that broccoli is very fibrous and Daphne doesn't really care about using the toilet. Combine that with blueberries and peas...yes, it's nice.

Broccolis make great pom poms for a garden girl.

The Most Un-Helpful Berry Picker

2011-07-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today we went blueberry picking and Daphne was overwhelmed with joy when she saw that all those bushes were full of her favorite food.

You'll notice a theme in these photos of Daphne with a hand in her mouth or a hand (or two) in a bucket. I would put berries in my bucket and she would say 'thank you' like it was so nice of me to pick those berries especially for her.

You may as well go for two buckets at once.

Sneaking berries behind the bush.

So nice of her to hold a bucket while eating.

Eye on the prize.

Her #2 accidents (because really, toilets are so over-rated) are going to be so delightful tomorrow.

What I Wish

2011-07-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

I was reading about Vitamin D being fat soluble, meaning you can store it up in your body during sunshine season and then it slowly gets used over the course of the year when it's not so sunny.

It seems like it would be nice if we could do the same thing with vegetables...hang out by the garden all summer eating its yummy bounty, and then spend the winter with just Pumpkin Spice lattes and warm cookies.

That would be nice.

Hear the Music

2011-07-13T22:26:00.001-07:00

(We're pretty sure Daphne marches around to her own little theme songs.)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T...

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)

A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)

I got to have (just a little bit)

A little respect (just a little bit)

(See?)

Pictures

2011-07-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

We took our official family photos today.

David and I took some like this several years ago and decided to take some at each stage of our family's life. We had to hurry quick to get some as a family of 3.

I think this means we can only have as many children as will comfortably fit in a mall photo booth.

Beach

2011-07-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach. It was sunny and warm!

Daphne got to dig in the 'dirt' (as she calls it).

And wear a bucket on her head.

And finally was brave enough to play in the water.

(Some days it would be so nice if she could go barefoot like the other kids.)

The beach is one of Daphne's new favorite places; she was so sad to leave.

Also, she's real good at driving a bus.

10 Things

2011-07-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

How to Have a Great Summer Day

by: Daphne

1) Have a beautiful summer day with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 80s.

2) Go to the park and run around a whole bunch and ride on a bouncing dolphin.

3) Eat an entire pint of fresh raspberries on the back patio. Do not share with your mom and dad.

4) Wash off the raspberries with a dip in the pool. Don't forget to relax a little.

5) Eat an entire ice cream cone that has home made ice cream in it.

6) Wash off the ice cream with a dip in the pool.

7) Mow the lawn (clothing optional).

8) Freak out about a bug.

9) Play with a stick and pretend it's a rocket ship.

10) Play horseshoes (clothing optional).

The End.

We Had a Party and It Was Fun

2011-07-05T19:09:00.001-07:00

David almost always has to work on the 4th of July but we were happy that he had this year off. It's nice to have someone around to help deal with our dog, Brynner, who has the worst fear of fireworks (and any other loud noise, like the music from the ice cream man) of any dog I know. I don't know if I really like Brynner. It's hard to like a 60lb dog who climbs on your head when you're trying to sleep, all because he hears a noise. Today David had to fix the garage door that Brynner pulled off the hinges in his attempts to escape. Yes, we medicate him, and no, it's doesn't seem to work at all.

Anyways, David finally had the 4th off so we had 3 families from our home group over for a little party. Daph was a terrible grouch all day while I was trying to cook so to distract her I finally told her that we were having friends over later. That calmed her down, but of course she was asking "when are friends coming?" for hours. There's a reason I usually never tell her things in advance.

Daphne had many 4th of July outfits this year because I always shop after the holiday the year before to find super cheap things, and apparently last year I went a little crazy. It was totally cool that she accidentally fell in the pool mid-evening because that meant she got to wear two of her outfits to the party.

We ate yummy food, did a lot of sitting around chatting, the men played horseshoes, we ate more yummy food and ended with some fireworks. Daphne loved the fireworks until one of those spin-around-while-loudly-whistling ones flew at the children and she got a little trampled in the chaos. Nothing dangerous, since "flew at her" means it came within like 15 feet and "got a little trampled" means there were children running all around and she fell down. After that she liked the quiet, stationary fireworks the best.

If David stays on this same shift he'll have next 4th of July off too. Tomorrow I'm starting my shopping for Daphne's outfits.

4th of July

2011-07-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.

-Erma Bombeck

I'm busy skewering chicken, prepping home made ice cream and slicing strawberries, just getting prepared to be very patriotic today.

Happy 4th to you and yours!

Playing Catch-Up

2011-06-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

We're finally done with the professional people in our basement. Adding up the number of people by the number of hours they cleaned for us, it took about 70 hours to clean the majority of our soot mess. Now we're just working on doing all the laundry and cleaning out the insides of our closets and dressers. It's a yucky job, but we're trudging along. Our water and electric bill will be amazing this month.

We went to the beach Sunday and Monday, and I was thinking that if I left the crazy situation that is our house, the crazy situation would just go away. Unfortunately the mess was still here when we got home. Bummer.

The hardest part of this whole deal is that I have SO many things to get done before the baby comes, but now instead of doing those things I'm washing hangers from our closets. I need to be replacing Velcro on our cloth diapers...maybe this baby will just have to use safety pins for a bit. But the basement is cleaner than I could ever get it so I can't really complain.

The cleaners were amazing. Every time I go into our laundry room I wonder why it's so bright in there, and then I realize that when you wash a window, more light is let in and the room becomes brighter. I'll definitely have to give that a try more often. I'm thinking that I'm very supportive of having a cleaning crew come clean our upstairs, too. I mean, imagine how long it would take me, a stay-at-home mom who can only really work after Daphne goes to bed at night, to get 70 hours worth of cleaning done? Once I finished, the first half of what I did would be a mess again. A total waste of my time, for sure.

But moving on from our cleaning issues and onto our beach weekend...we drove to Newport and spent Sunday at the Aquarium. I wasn't sure what Daphne would think, but apparently she is at the perfect age for getting excited about fish. (By the way, I have not yet found the camera cord, but instead discovered that the video camera cord works just fine. The camera cord is just going to have to appear miraculously on it's own because I have no idea where it could be.)

It was very sad when David told her to look for Patrick (from Sponge-Bob) in the starfish pool. Poor girl was confused on why she didn't actually get to see the real Patrick.

I love the photos of her with her face pressed to the glass floor of the shark tunnel so she could what was swimming beneath her.

I don't know what is going on in this final picture, but it makes me laugh. We like the Aquarium!

You Know Your House is a Disaster When...

2011-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

*On day 1 of cleaning there are 2 sweet ladies working for several hours and only finish cleaning the bathroom.

*On day 2 of cleaning the cleaning number multiplies to 4 sweet ladies and 1 man.

*You come home from a play date to 2 cleaning vans and 2 furnace repair trucks parked in front of your house and in your driveway so you have to park a couple of houses away.

*Your driveway has 4 neighbors waving nets and bamboo sticks around as they try to get their runaway rabbit out of your hedge.

*I still can't find the camera cord and Daphne won't tell me where it is.

Take it from me: our house is officially disaster central. You might want to stay away.

Photoless But Action Packed

2011-06-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

I know you are dying to live a day with us. Reading an hourly play-by-play is exactly what you've always wanted to do.

OK, OK, so you won't find this interesting, but in 20 years I will like to remember all these funny little details that made up our day to day life. I had no idea when I started documenting today of all days that it would turn into one of the wackiest days we've had in awhile, so if you want the good part, just skip down to where the furnace guy's vacuum bag exploded all over our basement. It's a riveting story.

June 21, 2011

*12AM- Daphne is wandering around her room, first time to get up in the night since we've moved her to her big-girl bed. Hopefully this isn't a new nighttime habit. But maybe she'll sleep in in the morning!

*5 something- My eyes are blurry but Daphne is awake and yelling for me. I'm OK with the blurry eyes; I really don't need to know what time it is. Just knowing it's 5 something let's me know that we are not sleeping in.

It's the first day of summer and the weather people said it was supposed to be sunny and warm. I peak out the window but only see a lot of gray clouds.

*6:15- David is off today and takes pity on me by getting up, too! Happy. This doesn't happen very often.

*6:30- Daphne is sitting on the sofa crying and yelling. You never know what the deal is. I think I'll go make breakfast.

*7- I make waffles and cut up fruit and get a batch of yogurt started. David BBQs sausage. He sets a record for himself as this being the earliest he's ever used the BBQer. How exciting for him. Daphne is still crying on the sofa.

David asks, "what do you think is wrong with her?"

Me, "I'm not really sure; I've been asking myself that for 2 1/2 years now. Don't you love getting up early with us?"

David goes outside to BBQ in peace.

*7:30- Breakfast is ready, David and Daph are both at the table with their food. I sit down and pick up my fork...and Daphne goes to the bathroom in her chair.

"Uh oh," she says, "Don't go to the bathroom in the chair! Go in the toilet."

Thanks for informing me, Daph, but I actually already knew that.

*7:45- Breakfast, take 2. Successful this time.

*8:05- Daph wants to walk with her belly and legs, and grabs two of her favorite friends, Ducky Duck and Kitty, so they can go on an imaginary trip to Target. Perfect time to get the kitchen cleaned up from the breakfast mess.

*8:07- That didn't last long. She needs me. She's fussing again, but this time David takes the easy way out and turns on the TV. Suddenly she's happy! David should get up with us more often. I don't feel guilty if he's the one turning on the TV.

*8:30- We have someone coming at 8:30, we need to take the car to the shop at 9, we have someone coming at 9:30, and the furnace-fixer guy coming sometime in the midst of all that. It's a little touch and go for awhile there, especially since the 8:30 person didn't come until 9:15 and Daphne threw a huge fit when we got home from dropping off the car because our trip was so short and boring.

But hey! I think I see some sun peeking through the clouds.

*12:30PM- Our 9:30 person just left. Daphne was a pretty good girl while having another soul in our house. She wanted to play outside but we needed to stay in the living room with our guest and that caused a few minor fits. No big deal.

I feel tired and the day is only half over.

*1:00- We put D down for a nap, and please alert the authorities, because she went to sleep! Sleeping during nap time is a rare occurrence around here.

*1:30- Our doula, Carissa, came for our first visit this pregnancy. She was our doula with Daphne, and I can't imagine going through birth without her. Doulas are amazing.

Since Daph never naps anymore, I was excited for her to get up and see Carissa and get a couple of cute pictures of the two of them together. But Carissa left at 3:30 and Daphne was still sleeping soundly.

*3:30- Our furnace guy is still here replacing the burner and the fan. Somehow his vacuum bag explodes, coating our entire basement in a thick layer of black dust and oil-based soot. Our bedroom, the nursery, laundry room and family room are unusable until we get a professional cleaning team to come in and clean it all up. Do you laugh or cry in this type of situation? I had just cleaned our down comforter and mattress as part of my spring cleaning...how sad that I have to do it all over again.

Our carpets, all the furniture, our clothes, every book and random knickknack on the bookshelves all need to be cleaned. Everything. I was feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed by all I needed to get done before the baby came; cleaning every single item in our basement was not exactly on my list.

3:35- Daph wakes up minutes after Carissa leaves and she's soaked because she doesn't know how to not go to the bathroom in her sleep. She notices that David set up the little pool in the front yard (because it really did pass 80 today!!) and suddenly she's talking on and on about water and swimming and swimming with Daddy. The pool hasn't been out since last August; can she really remember that far back?

4:15- Because I am a nice mama I carry bucket after bucket of warm water from the bathtub out to the pool so Daphne doesn't have to sit in ice cold hose water. Daph is finally changed into her suit and happily swimming in her pool when the car people call saying the car is done and we need to get it. Poor Daph. We haul her out and wrap her in a towel to go get the car. She's so sad.

5:15- Home again! Two minutes in the pool and she's officially done and wants to head back to play with the doggies.

5:30- There is no energy left to cook supper. Thinking about our coal mine basement in which the dust has also come up the stairs and settled in the kitchen takes all the motivation away. Thank you, David, for making an Arby's run.

5:45- David locked Brynner up so he wouldn't mooch our food while we ate outside...but little miss chicken became a moocher instead. She stole part of my sandwich right out from under me. Daph thought it was the greatest.

6-8PM- We have to stay outside because the house is so yucky. Daphne, despite her nap, is a mess. I work to keep her entertained while David mows the lawn. Of course she has a yucky accident (that's like 4 today! What's up with that?).

8:00- Daphne is in bed. I want to upload photos from the day but the last person I saw with the camera cord was Daphne and she has a knack for stashing items into places only she knows about. No photos for today.

David and I head downstairs to inspect the damage...and find it's worse than we imagined. Absolutely everything, from floor to ceiling, in every room and every closet is covered in smokey, greasy soot. Things like luggage in the hall closet we're not sure can be cleaned. What about David's big TV and fancy sound equipment and the desktop computer? All of David's and my personal belongings are in the basement and so we need to get all of our clothes out of the closets and dressers to be washed. Fortunately we have a guest bedroom upstairs we can sleep in, and I am so thankful Daphne is out of her downstairs room and upstairs as well. We work for a few hours until my feet are so swollen I can barely move, plus I know Daphne's 5Am wake-up call will come awfully quick.

11:38PM- Lights out for the adults. I'm so looking forward to tomorrow.

June 22rd update: The furnace lady told me they'll get a cleaning team in today and it will probably take 3 hours to clean for us. The cleaning people came and said it's a terrible mess and will take at least 2 days. Someone is cleaning all our basement floors, walls, carpets, furniture, shelves and all items on the shelves...and I don't have to pay a dime. I guess that's OK with me. Our upstairs has a little soot residue, so Daphne is at Grandma's house for the afternoon and I get to scrub the kitchen and clean our upstairs carpets. Pretty soon we'll have the cleanest house on the block.

Outline for a Good Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

1. Apple fritter for breakfast

2. Reading the new Treasure Ship book

3. After church naps (Dad and Daphne, Mom was busy slaving away over dinner)

4. Fried chicken for dinner

5. Yo Cream for dessert

6. Maybe a fit or two

7. And a photo that I don't understand but makes me laugh

Before Baby Project #...I Don't Know, I've Lost Count

2011-06-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

One week Daph visited both Grandma's houses and left her new big girl room looking like this:

So I did a bunch of work like this:

And David did some stuff like this:

Until we finally got an end result of this:

Whew! I'm so glad it's done.

I wanted a light and springy look, something not too girly so that if a boy is ever in this room we can easily make it work. I had a great time scouring second hand stores and Craig's List for a lot of things that I could paint and change to suit her room. (By the way, there's a new, huge Salvation Army Family Store on 82nd that is one of the best places EVER.) Spray paint became my new best friend during this renovation. Why didn't anyone tell me how great spray paint is? I warn you though, beware when the spray paint nozzle gets stuck in the 'on' position. It's a slight disaster.

A $3 frame from the thrift store with spray paint and chicken wire added gives you a perfect photo board. I also made a mini one for her big hair clips.

I got the photo block idea right here and I love how cute they turned out. I followed this online tutorial to make the fabric basket, and made a couple more tiny ones to hold hair bands on her dresser.

I was so excited to get the reading tent put up. I had bought the mosquito net in Thailand years ago and have been storing it away for the perfect opportunity to come up (although I read you can make your own using a hula hoop). Then I just bought a sheet for the cover (so much easier than buying massive amounts of fabric and hemming it all! Cheaper, too, I would imagine) and made the little fabric pennant out of scraps. So simple.

Her bed is mine from when I was young. It fits in perfectly, but since it is rather big for a little one to fall out of, I just got a fold-up rail at Fred's to make it more toddler-friendly. She has adjusted to sleeping in her new room just fine.

I saw the idea for the shelves above the windows in a magazine years ago and am so happy David built them for this room. I don't like having too much clutter around, but I like this space for a few of her breakable items to be displayed.

I don't know if Daphne likes it. I was hoping she would realize how much fun it would be to have all her toys in one organized location so she could play and play and play. But one of her favorite phrases is "I'm right next to Mama!" and she would rather be wherever I am than be playing in her room by her lonesome. Maybe someday.

Oh, Daphne

2011-06-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

Today Daphne threw a fit that I can understand...

We walked right by DSW Shoes and when she saw that we were just passing and not stopping she tried to throw herself out of the stroller as she was yelling "No! that store! that store!" It was great.

This photo shows her trying on Daddy's shoes, which she wanted to do so badly, and then starting to get mad because she couldn't walk in them.

Right at this exact moment she's weeping and wailing her in bed because rest time is so dull, but if she would just move her body a little bit she would see the pile of books I left for her to look at during this time.

Oh, Daphne.

Changes

2011-06-12T17:11:00.001-07:00

Times have been tough around here.

Daphne is dropping sleep, always a rough transition. Is it like that for everyone else, too?

A friend once told me, "don't be too excited when things are going well, because they'll change soon, and don't be too discouraged when things are going poorly, because they'll change soon."

Well, my friends, change has come.

Daphne is now getting up at 5AM. 5. I do not like 5. Only crazy people like the 5 o'clock hour. (My apologies if you are one of those crazies and I'm offending you right now by calling you crazy.)

Essentially, she's dropping from almost 14 hours of sleep to 11. I'm working to move her bedtime a little later because it seems that she'll sleep 11 hours no matter when I put her to bed. But you know how hard the evenings are with a tired, grouchy child, especially when you're by yourself. I just want to put her to bed because I know she'll fall right to sleep, but the earlier she's in bed the earlier she's up...and that makes me tired and grouchy.

One of Daph's new favorite hobbies is throwing things out of anger. Like her full plate of food if she decides what I serve her is not what she wants. When she throws her food, she is immediately done eating and we clean up the mess, put it in the fridge and we wait an hour or so until another meal time comes around to try again.

Yesterday this went on for 6 hours straight, and she cried and screamed for almost the entire 6 hours. Daphne's always been a fit thrower, but this was pretty amazing to see. I wished more people would have been around to watch the spectacle with me.

I know no one believes me when I say she can be quite the little stinker, because when we're out with friends or family she is a smiling, cheerful gem. Seriously, a delight. I don't know why she turns the switch when she's home with us. This past week David told me he was actually glad he got to leave and go to work instead of having to be home with Daphne.

But I am at home, trying not to become too discouraged. I'm sure it doesn't help that pregnancy sickness seems to be back, although I'm sure you don't want to hear about my gross vomit issues and the fact that I think I may need an esophagus transplant (do they do those?) thanks to the acid wear-down in my throat. Oh, too much information? Sorry.

So I'm just here, waiting for change to come. Because as I hear it, it always comes eventually.

Hey look, a not-mad Daphne! But only because we're at someone else's house and she's being pushed around by a child half her age but double her size.

Sugar and Spice

2011-06-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our midwife asked David what he'll do if we have another girl and he's even more outnumbered in our family.

Considering the fact that I bought Daphne a My Little Pony that she hardly touches, but she carries around the rocket ship David bought like tragedy will fall upon us if it gets out of her sight, I don't think he needs to worry.

This morning we delighted her with a trip downtown to see all the ships in for Fleet Week. PLUS she got to ride home with me on MAX (the transit system train).

A good morning for our train/boat/airplane/police car/tractor/helicopter/rocket ship lovin' girl.

When A Fit Doesn't Get You What You Want

2011-06-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

So, everyone who's constantly blogging and Facebook-ing with photos of their happy children...please tell me I'm not the only one who gets more photos of this face than any other:

I'm feeling a little alone here.

I really do love age 2 the best so far, if nothing because temper tantrums with a 2 1/2 year old are a little easier than the tantrums of a year ago. At least I can communicate with her a little more.

Today was exciting as Daphne wanted me to carry her up the stairs but I couldn't because my hands were full. I told her if she wanted to come up, she could come on her own. So, logically, she sat at the bottom of the stairs for 10 minutes and screamed. (Do you love that I photographed the moment?)

She would have sat longer except she went to the bathroom on the floor.

"Hey, Mom and Dad won't get me while I'm screaming, so I'll just pee. That'll bring 'em running."

Oh Daphne, such a delightful child. I'm just sure that having another little one will bring even more joy into our lives.

Picture Day

2011-06-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

I know...two posts in one day. But I just had to share this link from our family photo shoot this morning.

It was fun that while on our way there our car died making us late, but I just stood by the open hood all pregnant and pathetic-like while David went and bought jumper cables and someone else came and helped us. The story turned out well because our photographer friend Amy wasn't even mad at us and still took some excellent photos.

I mean, that is one super cute girl.

A Little Mess

2011-06-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday David came home from court with ice cream.

Daphne rubbed it all over her face like it was a face mask.

David got to clean her up.

We've Been Released From Our Prison

2011-05-28T14:42:00.001-07:00

Finally, 1 week and 5 days since we quit diapers cold turkey and 1 week 2 days (except we did go to church on Sunday) of house arrest thanks to potty training, we have finally gained the freedom to leave our house.

I should have taken a video of Daphne's reaction yesterday when we told her we were going out. Serious shrieking and running wildly around the house.

Daph really loves using public restrooms. Yesterday during our half-hour visit to Target she went 3 times and loved every minute of it.

Some people go to amusement parks or to the zoo for fun; we go to stores and use their restrooms.

P.S. If you happen to be at our house when Daphne needs to use the bathroom, she'll probably ask you to come with her. She likes sharing her bathroom victories with all.

Making it Fun

2011-05-25T19:09:00.001-07:00

When going to the bathroom, sometimes it's nice to bring along some friends.

Before Baby Projects #2 and #3

2011-05-24T15:58:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to potty train AND paint Daphne's new bedroom.

This was not a very good combination, for any of you who are considering planning this same day o' fun at your house.

P.S. who taught my daughter that yelling "NO!!!!" at the top of her lungs was a good idea? Whoever you are, you aren't my friend anymore.

P.P.S. I'm thankful I don't live near tornadoes.

When All Else Fails, Eat a Bagel

2011-05-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

I wish I was writing to share how wonderfully potty training has been going since we quit diapers cold turkey last Monday.

I wish I was writing that, but I'm not because potty training stinks in many ways and I am very concerned that Daphne will never, ever be potty trained.

We had a brief moment on Saturday where I thought it actually 'clicked' with her. She would have a tiny accident but catch it and finish in the toilet. All morning long this happened and it was wonderful. But then Saturday afternoon was awful again and so far today is awful, too. But we persevere and pray that someday Daph will realize that it's way more fun to use the toilet than the living room floor.

Daphne and I stayed home all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday to focus on the toilet and we're planning on staying home everyday for as long as we can. I don't think I've ever stayed home so much in my life...I may be losing my mind a wee bit. BUT I've done some amazing things with my home-time! Like made yogurt, cream cheese and bagels. All these things are pretty simple to make but you need to be home for several consecutive hours and that can be hard to do with a busy life.

This morning we had fresh-from-the-oven bagels with newly finished cream cheese. I wish words could explain how delicious they were. David asked if the bagels were healthy (because as a rule, ones from the store are not) but since I use good flour and can add things like ground flax meal, they are mostly good for you. The only ingredient in the cream cheese is raw milk, so of course that's good for you. Guilt free bagels. Wonderful.

If the world ends we will officially be set now that I can make these things. If only someone I was blood related to would get a milk cow....

Two Things I Like

2011-05-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

My name is Daphne and I love to eat peanut butter.

I also love to read books.

Yep, it's true.

Coffee, Sun, Motorcycles, Rain, New Clothes

2011-05-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Did you frequent the Starbucks Happy Hour this week? We may have gone ~~almost everyday~~ once or twice.

And I may have let Daphne try a little of my drink. I though she would take a tiny sip and move on, but noooo, she guzzled it. I'm pretty sure she stunted her growth by about 3 inches. Not so good for one who already struggles with height issues.

Yesterday afternoon Daph and I enjoyed our coffee outdoors while she got to wear her first summertime outfit of the year. This afternoon we didn't even leave our house while the rain flooded our street. Oh the joys of Spring.

Not too far from here the police have been having a huge motorcycle training so we stopped by yesterday to check it out. Daphne likes motorcycles because her daddy has one, but I wasn't sure if she would be very impressed and maybe we would only last a minute or two until she was bored.

Apparently she loves motorcycles a lot more than I thought she did and we stayed until the bitter end. (I make that sound so dramatic, so to be fair we got there about 45 minutes before the training was over for the night.)

It was actually a stressful trip for me because she kept trying to sneak under the fence so she could be on the course with all the policemen who looked like they were having tons of fun.

I would say, "Daph, I don't want you to be squished by a motorcycle!" and she would sing "squished by a motorcycle!" like she thought that might be an interesting experience. I don't think she quite understands the word 'squish.'

This afternoon I made use of the rainy day to get some cleaning done in the nursery so that we can move Daphne out of it one of these days. I went through the box of clothes that she's just starting to grow into and was delighted at all the things I had bought at the end of the season last summer for her to wear this summer. It was like a surprise shopping trip. Cotton shorts from Old Navy that I had gotten for $.47, rompers for $1.50, t-shirts for $1.97. So while Daphne will be adorably dressed this summer, no one is allowed to make fun of her for wearing last year's styles. She can't help it if her mama is cheap.

Photos to Share on Prom Night

2011-05-13T13:39:00.001-07:00

What is so cute about a little one using the bathroom? I think every parent has to have these photos in their arsenal.

But in 10 years Daphne may like this photo better:

And this one:

Probably these ones, too:

Don't forget this chicken, who is never too far behind:

Happy Birthday, Have a Gray Hair

2011-05-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

David and I have a little family rule that he gets to decide our activity for Father's Day and I get to choose Mother's Day. This year Mother's Day and my birthday were the same day, so I decided to head down to see my family and all the mothers there, plus my Grandpa who's birthday was also yesterday.

We're twins, see?

And as tradition states, Daphne and I must take the worst photo ever on Mother's Day. In this photo she was trying to beat me up, like "I love you so much, mom, that I'm going to punch you in the head."

Almost as good as last year's photo.

Daphne loves parties mostly for the food. She may or may not have been sneaking frosting off the side of this cake.

"No one will let me have cake," she thinks.

But wait! Of course she'll get treats if there is some sort of Papa figure involved.

The other day I noticed that I had one gray hair on the top of my head. Isn't it a bit soon for that? The bad thing about everyone coloring their hair these days is that I have no idea who is gray and who is not. Am I the only one? I feel very alone.

Despite that gray hair, yesterday was good and merry. And Daph had a great time climbing to the top of the cat's play structure.

P.S. If you need to read a good Mother's Day post, I liked this one the best.

Snuggles

2011-05-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

If we're outside and I lose track of Daphne for a minute, I can pretty much count on her being in one place.

Cuddled up with her best bud Brynner.

This afternoon she was trying to feed him leaves and saying "luf you Brynner!"

She calls it 'snuggling wif Brynner.'

I call it 'free babysitting.'

Countdown to Summer

2011-05-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the sunshine put a spring in our steps and a smile on our faces.

Today the rain is not having the same effect.

But let's not think about that, shall we? I'll just admire my tan lines and remember that Daphne is a football-playing superstar and is ready for her driver's license.

All good things that come from a warm, sunny day.

Did I Mention the Chicken Love?

2011-05-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Daph and her friend, coloring with sidewalk chalk:

I Love Age 2

2011-04-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

I love age 2. So far it's the best of all the ages Daphne has experienced.

I love that when I need to get something done, she can be a big helper and work along side me, therefore being distracted enough that I can really get something done.

Like yesterday she helped mash bananas for banana muffins. True, she ate all that she mashed, but still, very helpful.

(P.S. It's really hard to explain to a two year old, though, the concept of time. Like just because we mixed up muffins does not mean they are immediately ready to eat. "Muffin? Muffin? MUFFIN?" she yelled the entire time they were cooking/cooling.)

She's also great at yard work. We are actually very happy with the work we've gotten done in our yard this year (we pruned all the roses- first time in like 3 years) and potentially will get done this summer. Daph just runs with the dogs, laughing and waving sticks around. Semi-dangerous, I'm sure, but it keeps her happy. David bought her a little lawn mower that she really loved using until Brynner ate the handles off. He's also eaten nearly all her gardening tools and ate her soccer ball. (Not that I'm bitter.)

Last week when it was sunny we were unfortunately super busy but managed to find about 1/2 an hour to work outdoors. Daphne helped me weed the entire garden. Such a good helper.

She's also become some sort of chicken whisperer. Those chickens follow her around like they think she's one of them. She loves it and I think it's so cute.

We are really looking forward to this summer and doing all the fun activities that a 2-year-old is finally old enough to handle. Like having a beautiful yard.

'Before Baby' Project #1

2011-04-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today is a BSF day, but yesterday I noticed Daphne had the grossest runny nose ever and by last night had developed a bit of a cough. I decided to wait until this morning to decide if we should go, and when she was still asleep at 8:45 (our time to leave) I took that as a sign that BSF would be out.

I typically get up around 6AM so that I have time to exercise and do some other morning activities before Daphne gets up. She usually gets up around 7-7:30, and I love that morning chunk of time to get my day started.

This morning she kept sleeping...and sleeping...and sleeping, until a little after 10AM. Miraculous and wonderful.

So, what can you get done with 4 hours of uninterrupted work time?

Only make the cutest little play kitchen you'll ever see.

I cannot take the credit for the idea of transforming an old nightstand into a darling kitchen, but I can't remember where I saw the idea. I think it was on a home decorating blog that I happened to stumble across months ago just long enough to see this idea, show David, and know that we would be making one at some point. I'm sorry that I can't give proper credit where credit is due.

I don't have a 'before' photo, but this was just a nightstand with a drawer in it that we had in one of our spare rooms and were planning on getting rid of. Initially I was going to paint the stand to match Daphne's new 'big girl' room, but since the nightstand was already painted red, a color that matches our house decor really well, I just decided to keep it as is. This way if we end up keeping it in the kitchen, or maybe downstairs in the family room, it will fit right in like any of our furniture.

I bought a plastic bowl at Salvation Army for about $.50, the faucet at another store for around $8, and David found the drain covers to make into burners. He used soda lids for the burner nobs. We took out the drawer and I made a curtain to hang instead, then all of Daphne's kitchen toys that she got for Christmas are in a basket behind the curtain.

I think David is going to put some hooks on one side to hang her potholders and aprons, and maybe tack on a magnet board on the other side.

Since she hasn't left her kitchen's side I think it's a big hit.

Just imagine all I could accomplish if she always slept in until 10.

An Easter Recap

2011-04-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

Easter baskets:

And more Easter baskets:

Giant eggs:

A pretty Easter dress (with a not-so-pretty face):

Some cousin kissing:

And don't forget the rocket ships:

I hope your Easter was equally as festive.

Dethroning Begins in the Ultrasound Room

2011-04-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

We spent many hours at the doctor on Tuesday, first off getting Daphne some new shoes.

Rob was so excited to know he was making the blog. Seriously, who wouldn't be?

But poor Daphne; she doesn't understand why her new shoes don't feel exactly like her old ones and sort of hobbles around like an old woman complaining that she has ouchies. She sits down, holds her foot up and says "fix it, mama."

If only I could.

Doesn't seem like that long ago she was this size playing on this exact same exam table...

After her Hanger appointment we crossed the street for another peek at the baby. We loved introducing Daphne to the sonographer who did all of her ultrasounds. She's such a sweet lady and we've appreciated working with her. Daphne was thrilled to have found a new friend, but was also a little out-of-sorts over not being #1 during that appointment.

As Sherrie said, dethroning begins in the ultrasound room.

I don't know; Daphne is so cool, what if this new baby isn't as cool as she is?

I wanted to take a cute picture of Daphne holding an ultrasound photo, but you know how cooperative 2 year olds are.

Not what I had in mind, so maybe she'll cooperate another day? Maybe the same day we re-do our Tulip Festival photo shoot (a.k.a. never).

Tulip Season

2011-04-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

I had a dream.

We would go to the Tulip Festival, Daphne would joyfully frolic amongst the tulips, and we would get many beautiful photos of her.

Not so much. As soon as we passed through the children's play area on our walk out to the tulip fields, flowers were the last thing she wanted to be seeing.

David was able to get her to start looking around for rocket ships and that made her a little bit happier, although this picture makes them look like they are performing in some sort of tulip musical:

We finally went back to the 'bounce bounce,' the big air-filled jumping toy that had caught Daphne's eye, and then we found the rubber duck races which were the best thing she had ever seen.

We made the trip with friends and my car, the girl car, was following David's car, the boy car and they apparently were gabbing a little too much and led us all the way to Salem before our girl car decided we had enough of that and took over being the leaders. (They like to pretend that it was our fault, but don't listen to their side of the story.)

Despite no cute tulip photos and seeing half of Oregon, we had a really good time and it's definitely worth the little drive to go.

Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

2011-04-18T09:08:00.001-07:00

Hosanna: (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) an exclamation of praise, esp one to God.

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, Daphne got to participate in the church service for the first time.

I was sitting up on stage when I saw her happy little self marching with the other children, waving palm branches.

Hosanna, loud hosanna.

My heart was so full...with gratefulness that she's here and thankful for this specific reason for praise.

Hosanna, loud hosanna.

When It Was Sunny That One Day

2011-04-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today was rather gloomy, rainy and cold. David started a fire in the wood stove so at least our house was warm and cozy.

Last week we had one day of sun! We made a visit up to one of our favorite coffee shops which we love because:

A) they have super yummy coffee

B) they are child friendly

C) they have outdoor seating that will be wonderful come summer (I love that when we're outdoors Daphne runs around with a big smile on her face)

D) it is across from one of my favorite baby stores, Cotton Babies. Cotton Babies is the company that makes bumGenius cloth diapers, for any of you who care about that type of thing. They have cloth diapers (more than just bumGenius), toys, strollers, feeding tools, and many other items to make a mama happy. Cotton Babies is also very child friendly and are perfectly OK with children running around hollering like banshees. They have a tent set up that Daphne sits in and laughs so loudly I can hear her all throughout the store.

So. That's what we did when it was sunny that one day.

Say Hello to Sugar

2011-04-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

A few good things about Daphne's eating habits:

*Milk and water are her favorite beverages. I've offered her juice once or twice but she pushed them away for water. We don't keep juice in the house, so milk and water are the only things she knows and therefore are what she likes best. This is good.

*She loves fruit. I think she would turn down almost any food for berries.

*She loves cooked vegetables, especially carrots.

*She loves avocados, quinoa, kefir, and yummy leaves (lettuce). She's practically a walking health food store.

I'm so thankful that getting Daphne to eat has never been a struggle and I truly feel badly for all the parents who do have to struggle with it. I would like to take all the credit for her amazing eating skills, but there's nothing like motherhood to make you realize you're actually the most incompetent person alive. The Good Lord just knew we had enough issues to deal with that getting the girl to eat did not need to be one of them.

So while mealtime health is not a struggle for us, she is growing older and is more aware of what folks around her are eating. Thanks to this she has discovered that such a thing exists as 'yummy treats.'

Like cupcakes. And chocolate chips.

We went to See's Candies with friends the other week and Daph got her very own sample. She loved it. The other week at home group a plate of brownies was sitting near the edge of the kitchen table. I looked over just in time to see her swipe a brownie and chow down like she'd never had food before.

David gave her her first taste of licorice yesterday. He's not as strict about her diet as I am.

To say she was happy about it would be an understatement.

But here's the good thing for my own waist line: now that she recognizes all foods, including yummy treats, I get to be very, very careful on what we buy and eat at home. If I don't want Daphne to eat it, that means we don't get to, either.

Goodbye boxed macaroni & cheese; I loved you. Although I don't think it's possible to say good-bye to See's. Have you tried their Dark Bordeaux? Delish.

Don't Look if You're Queasy

2011-04-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

I just thought you would want to see a photo of one of the largest nose bubbles I've ever been able to catch on camera.

Because, you know, things like this are really interesting.

New Toys

2011-04-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

I just had to say thanks for the sweet comments regarding the new baby! I pretty much live everyday for comments. (OK, not really, but I do like them.)

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I went to a kids resale today with a friend, thinking I didn't need anything so therefore I wouldn't buy anything.

Apparently I really needed this Little People farm because somehow it came home with me. It was only $11, so it would have been silly NOT to buy it.

Think Daphne likes it?

The only problem is that she thinks the grain silo is a rocket ship, but hopefully we'll get her straightened out on that one soon.

Details (Wow This is Long)

2011-04-05T18:25:00.001-07:00

Daphne is so excited to be a big sister.

OK, it's true, she was actually just really happy to be at Starbucks.

If you don't like pregnancy talk, now would be a good time to just skip down to more photos. I promise I will not post everyday with detailed pregnancy updates, but I'll just get out a few details that I get asked often, and then I'm sure no one will ask these questions ever again! (Ha!)

*I'm about 19 weeks along. Thanks to the super-cool club we belong to of baby loss/trauma pregnancies we got to have an early anatomy scan to help keep the panic attacks to a minimum. Even though the baby looks fine we're going to have another one in a few weeks. Because you never know; things happen. For some reason I wasn't nervous at all about having another baby with Daphne's same diagnosis (we can handle that) but I was really nervous that this baby had no brain. I don't know where that came from, but it was a real concern for me. We decided to wait to share our pregnancy news until we could give all the information at once after having the ultrasound (which we had at 17 weeks). You know how people really like to hear "hey, we're having a baby, but he or she has no brain!" Good dinner conversations. But the baby does have a brain as well as all other important organs needed to live, so I would say that's really good.

*We're waiting to find out the gender until the birth. David would like to know, but I really, really, REALLY don't, and since I'm the pregnant one I win. I love the anticipation of waiting to find out, plus it is a huge incentive during labor. I distinctly remember after hours and hours and hours of labor with Daphne, being so tired and discouraged and in pain, remembering that if I could just keep going I would finally get to know if we were having a boy or a girl. That gave me a burst of second wind and boom! (like 3 hours later) she was born. I also like the old-fashioned-ness of waiting. Not many people do it now-a-days, and I love that old-school picture of Dad heading out to the waiting room to announce the baby's gender and name. So fun. I'm sure David would love to include some cigars and maybe some rifle shooting, but I don't think hospitals encourage that so much.

*I have no 'gut feeling' about this baby's gender. With Daphne I wanted a girl so badly that I only let myself think in terms of having a boy so that I wouldn't be disappointed if it was a boy. Silly. This time I would love to have a boy, but I would also love to have a girl because we have so many cute girl things that need to get used again. I would be perfectly happy either way. (Maybe part of me thinks it's a girl because so far this pregnancy seems exactly the same as Daphne's.) I read somewhere that children under 5 have an uncanny ability to predict gender. For quite a while when asked, Daphne would always say we were having a girl baby. Then just within the past week she changed it to a boy baby. I think changing her mind discounts her as a reliable source for gender predicting.

*I feel pretty good now, but the beginning was not good at all. For some reason my body does not like pregnancy, and I get to spend weeks 6-15 lying in a fetal position on the bathroom floor. Daphne thought that activity was very boring, by the way. My midwife sent me home with strips to check my ketone levels: a negative result is good and means you're getting enough calories, a 1 means try to eat, 2 means eat a lot and 3 means go in for IV. I did the IV route with Daphne and so tried my hardest to stay away from it this time. My midwife gave me strict instructions that every time I was a 2 (which was always) to eat a milkshake right away. Let me tell you, when a medical professional tells you it's vital to your health to eat milkshakes, you just do it with no questions asked. But now I feel fine, just super tired and unmotivated to do anything. I don't remember if I was this tired with Daphne, or if taking care of her just drains every ounce of energy right out of me. Yeah, I think I'll just blame her.

Is that all the important stuff (now that your brains are fried from trying to read such a long post)? I'm glad the news is finally out so no one has to be suspicious that I'm just gaining weight or that I have a stomach tumor. David was thinking we shouldn't tell anyone ever and just make everyone feel really awkward because no one would want to ask. Funny guy, that David.

The Room That Changes Your Life

2011-04-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

July 25, 2008 we spent hours cramped into a tiny room hearing lists of things wrong with our baby. Many appointments followed with more of the same. I hated that little room.

We were in that same room again last week, and this time we got hear what every parent should get to hear: "everything looks perfectly normal."

That's right, it's time Daphne becomes a big sister! Come the beginning of September hopefully we'll bring home another little one and fill our house with double trouble.

We are excited. Because sometimes that room rips your heart out, but sometimes it gives you just what you've needed.

Hope.

Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. ~Ps 31:24

18 Degrees is a Lot

2011-04-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Apparently today was 18 degrees colder than yesterday. Needless to say, we did not walk to the park again despite Daphne's many pleas.

David was gone all day climbing around Rocky Butte helping out with the search for the missing girl, and now he is off working his regular shift. Daphne and I had lots of work to do also, including baking a cake, cleaning, playing music at church, and remembering yesterday when we had a tiny hint of Spring.

May the hints come back as often as possible.

Keepin' Busy So She'll Sleep Like a Champ

2011-04-01T19:11:00.001-07:00

We turned a corner today:

I was finally brave enough to let Daph play with Play-Doh. You never know how the mess is going to spread, but she did great.

It was a great distraction for her so that I was able to get chocolate chip whoopie pies mixed up while she played. Unfortunately she needed me enough that I got a tiny bit confused and accidentally added 1/3 cup of milk instead of 1/2 cup of milk. It's OK; the pies turned out just fine.

I got to bake with turkey eggs from my dad, buttermilk (that I can make myself), butter (ditto), and whipping cream (double ditto), and I do NOT use shortening (an ingredient that I believe was sent to us straight from the underworld.) Healthiest whoopie pies you'll ever eat.

Except you won't get to eat them.

Unless you're in my home group, then you will.

Giant, speckle-y turkey eggs.

She eventually tired of Play-Doh and wanted to help cook.

Then, after busy kitchen time, we headed out to enjoy the fact that it finally reached 60 degrees! Daphne was happily enjoying the playground when she just took off...

...and wanted to play soccer with the big boys.

Poor Daphne.

I discovered today that buying her Stonz Booties was one of the best purchases ever, and that it is 1,000,000 times easier to play outside with a child who can walk. If summer ever comes, it's going to be a great time. (Sometimes Blogger is weird and I have no idea why there is a huge space here. It won't let me fix it. Sorry for the annoyance to your eyeballs.)

Slices of Life, Vol 2

2011-03-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

*One of Daphne's favorite things to do is walk with her belly, legs or toes. If she tells you she wants to walk with her belly, it means she wants to walk with no shirt on (and legs means no pants, etc). Just in case she ever asks you if she can walk with her belly and that question confuses you.

*Daphne wants to know what everything says. Mama, Daddy, butterflies, rocket ships, ambulances, doors, balloons...there is no limit to her curiosity on what any person, place or thing might say.

*The other constant questions we hear are "who's that?" and "what's that?" Reading a book really isn't that fun anymore because she asks "what's that" to every tiny thing on every page. And of course she asks about the same item 10,000 times.

*I love it when Daphne wakes up in the night and starts talking to herself. Two nights ago she woke up to sing the Spongebob Squarepants song. Last night she woke up and "tweet tweet tweet-ed" like a bird. It cracks us up.

*The other day we were getting ready to head out the door when Daphne disappeared for a minute...and came back wearing one of David's hats. Apparently she decided she wasn't officially ready to go until she looked just like Daddy.

*Yesterday after we left a friend's house, I asked Daphne if she had fun playing with her friends. She raised her arms high above her head and said "it was sooo great!" I didn't even know she knew that phrase.

Try to Hold Your Applause at Her Cuteness

2011-03-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

I just love these photos of how fabulous Daphne looks first thing in the morning.

(I know, she's going to hate me someday for posting these on the world wide web.)

Brynner Part 2

2011-03-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

"I love Brynner so much I will stab him with many sticks."